APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ADAPTIVELY ADJUSTING BACKLIGHT

• US 20080068328A1
• Filed: 07/10/2007
• Published: 03/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AU Optronics Corporation
• Original Assignee: AU Optronics Corporation
• Inventors: Li, Huan-hsin, Jou, Ming-jong, Hsieh, Yao-jen
• Granted Patent: US 8,120,569 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/102
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0456 with a reflective area and a transmissive area combined in one pixel, such as in transflectance pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0233 Improving the luminance or brightness uniformity across the screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0238 Improving the black level
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/064 by time modulation of the brightness of the illumination source
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0646 Modulation of illumination source brightness and image signal correlated to each other
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0653 Controlling or limiting the speed of brightness adjustment of the illumination source
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/16 Determination of a pixel data signal depending on the signal applied in the previous frame
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/16 Calculation or use of calculated indices related to luminance levels in display data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3406 Control of illumination source illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336

Abstract

An apparatus and method for adaptively adjusting backlight are described. The backlight adjusting apparatus includes an intensity-pair distribution device, a brightness compensation module, a frame-adjusting device, a backlight control device, and a backlight module. The intensity-pair distribution device generates a plurality of intensity-pair distribution values of the image frames each composed of a plurality of pixel data. The brightness compensation module computes a dark-state ratio of the pixel data of a current image frame in response to the intensity-pair distribution values, and computes a brightness index of the current image frame in response to the dark-state ratio for generating a brightness compensating signal based on the dark-state ratio and the brightness index. The frame adjusting device adjusts the brightness of the total pixel data of the current image frame in response to brightness compensating signal. The backlight control device updates the brightness index of the current image frame in response to the brightness index of a previous image frame and the intensity-pair distribution values of the current image frame for generating a backlight control signal of the current image frame. The backlight module adjusts the backlight of the module in response to the backlight control signal.

Claims

1. An apparatus of adaptively adjusting backlight for use in a liquid crystal display, the apparatus comprising:

an intensity-pair distribution device for receiving a plurality of image frames to correspondingly generate a plurality of intensity-pair distribution values of the image frames, wherein each of the image frames is composed of a plurality of pixel data;

a brightness compensation module, electrically coupled to the intensity-pair distribution device, for computing a dark-state ratio of the pixel data in a current image frame in response to the intensity-pair distribution values of the current image frame, and for computing a brightness index of the current image frame in response to the dark-state ratio for generating a brightness compensating signal based on the dark-state ratio and the brightness index of the current image frame;

a frame-adjusting device, electrically coupled to the brightness compensation module, for adjusting the brightness of the pixel data of the current image frame in response to the brightness compensating signal;

a backlight control device, electrically coupled to the intensity-pair distribution device and the brightness compensation module, for updating the brightness index of the current image frame in response to the brightness index of a previous image frame and the intensity-pair distribution values of the current image frame for generating a backlight control signal of the current image frame; and

a backlight module, electrically coupled to the backlight control device, for adjusting the backlight luminance of the backlight module in response to the backlight control signal from the backlight control device for adaptively matching the brightness of the current image frame with the luminance profile of the backlight module.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dark-state ratio of the brightness compensation module is the ratio between the amount of the gray pixel data in one image frame and the total amount of the pixel data in the image frame, and the gray levels of the gray pixel data are lower than a predetermined value.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the brightness index of the current image frames is the sum of the largest gray level multiplying a first weighting value and the dark-state ratio multiplying a second weighting value for each image frame.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a voltage control unit, electrically coupled to the brightness compensation module, for receiving the brightness compensating signal, wherein the brightness compensation module multiplies the compensating signal by a first adjusting value, and multiplies the voltage signal by a second adjusting value for summing up the multiplied values to adjust the brightness compensating signal from the brightness compensation module.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a frame detection module, electrically coupled to the intensity-pair distribution device, for detecting an image frame difference between the current image frame and the previous image frame by computing the intensity-pair distribution difference between the intensity-pair distribution values of the current image frame and the intensity-pair distribution values of the previous image frame, and for dividing the intensity-pair distribution difference by the intensity-pair distribution value of the previous image frame so as to determine whether the brightness index of the current image frame is adjusted to a target brightness index according to the image frame difference.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the brightness index of the previous image frame is different from the target brightness index, the frame detection module is configured to adjust the brightness index of the current image frame to the target brightness index in response to the ratio of the image frame difference.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the brightness index of the previous image frame is different from the target brightness index, the frame detection module is configured to adjust the brightness index of the current image frame to the target brightness index in response to the ratio of the brightness difference.

8. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the brightness index of the previous image frame is different from the target brightness index, the frame detection module is configured to adjust the brightness index of the current image frame at a predetermined difference ratio to the target brightness index.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a contrast comparison module, electrically coupled to the intensity-pair distribution device, for comparing the contrast between the current image frame and the previous image frame by computing the contrast ratio of the current image frame and the previous image frame in response to the intensity-pair distribution values for adjusting the backlight luminance based on the comparison result.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image frame for generating the target brightness index is different from the image frame for determining the brightness index of the current image frame.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a conversion look-up table for inquiring the conversion look-up table in response to the brightness index to generate a pulse width modulation signal for adjusting the luminance of the backlight module.

12. A method of adaptively adjusting a backlight for use in a liquid crystal display, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of image frames;

generating a plurality of intensity-pair distribution values of the image frames each, wherein each of the image frames is composed of a plurality of pixel data;

computing a dark-state ratio of the pixel data in a current image frame in response to the intensity-pair distribution values of the current image frame, and computing a brightness index of the current image frame according to the dark-state ratio for generating a brightness compensating signal based on the dark-state ratio and the brightness index of the current image frame;

adjusting the brightness of the pixel data of the current image frame according to the brightness compensating signal;

updating the brightness index of the current image frame according to the brightness index of a previous image frame and the intensity-pair distribution values of the current image frame for generating a backlight control signal of the current image frame; and

adjusting the backlight luminance of the backlight module in response to the backlight control signal from the backlight control device for adaptively matching the brightness of the current image frame with the luminance profile of the backlight module.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the dark-state ratio of the brightness compensation module is the ratio between the amount of the gray pixel data in one image frame and the total amount of the pixel data in the image frame, and the gray levels of the gray pixel data are lower than a predetermined value.

14. The method of according to claim 13, wherein the brightness index of the current image frames is the sum of the largest gray level multiplying a first weighting value and the dark-state ratio multiplying a second weighting value for each image frame.

15. The method according to claim 12, further comprising multiplying the compensating signal by a first adjusting value, and multiplying the voltage signal by a second adjusting value for summing up the multiplied values to adjust the brightness compensating signal from the brightness compensation module.

16. The method according to claim 13, further comprising detecting an image frame difference between the current image frame and the previous image frame by computing the intensity-pair distribution difference between the intensity-pair distribution value of the current image frame and the intensity-pair distribution value of the previous image frame, and dividing the intensity-pair distribution difference by the intensity-pair distribution value of the previous image frame for determining whether the brightness index of the current image frame is adjusted to a target brightness index according to the image frame difference.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein when the brightness index of the previous image frame is different from the target brightness index, the frame detection module adjusts the brightness index of the current image frame to the target brightness index according to the image frame difference.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein when the brightness index of the previous image frame is different from the target brightness index, the frame detection module is configured to adjust the brightness index of the current image frame to the target brightness index according to the intensity-pair distribution difference.

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein when the brightness index of the previous image frame is different from the target brightness index, the frame detection module is configured to adjust the brightness index of the current image frame at a predetermined interval to the target brightness index.

20. The method according to claim 12, further comprising comparing the contrast difference between the current image frame and the previous image frame by computing the contrast ratio of the current image frame and the previous image frame according to the intensity-pair distribution values for adjusting the backlight luminance based on the comparison result.

21. The method according to claim 12, wherein the image frame for generating the target brightness index is different from the image frame for determining the brightness index of the current image frame.

22. The method according to claim 12, further comprising inquiring the conversion look-up table according to the brightness index to generate a high level and a low level in a pulse width modulation signal for adjusting the luminance of the backlight module.